Daley's nephew appears on schools VIP list

March 25, 2010

A VIP list maintained by Chicago Public Schools included admissions requests by Patrick Daley Thompson, Mayor Richard Daley's nephew, on behalf of a longtime supporter of the family's political organization, the Tribune has confirmed.

At least two other attorneys from Thompson's powerful law firm also lobbied to get students into the city's best schools. The CPS inspector general is investigating one of those cases, a source said.

On Tuesday, Mayor Richard Daley denied any role in the VIP lists, which were kept by orders of then-schools chief Arne Duncan, who is now U.S. education secretary. However, the Tribune has verified six instances in which the mayor's staff or his nephew intervened for students.

Daley spokeswoman Jacqueline Heard said Wednesday the mayor never would have denied involvement if he knew about the lobbying efforts.

"Do you really believe the mayor would say that unequivocally if he didn't believe it was true?" said Heard. "That leads you to believe that the mayor didn't have knowledge that any of these people were making calls."

Logs indicate Thompson contacted then-CPS schools chief Duncan in April 2008 in the hopes of securing two spots at Whitney Young Magnet High School for the daughters of a ward loyalist. The girls' father, a high-ranking city supervisor, has donated about $2,500 to the Daley family's 11th Ward Democratic Organization in the past decade.

The father's name also appears on another once-secret government log. He was listed as the sponsor of three people who sought city jobs for their political work, according to a clout list once kept in the mayor's office that was entered into evidence during the 2006 federal trial of Daley's former patronage chief, Robert Sorich.

The man has worked as a voter registrar in the ward and lives on the same street as Thompson, who now owns the Bridgeport bungalow where his grandfather, Mayor Richard J. Daley, once lived.

Heard denied Thompson intervened because he wanted to reward an 11th Ward foot soldier, and noted the children were not accepted into their top choice.

"It had nothing to do with the political connections," she said. "It was because he was a longtime friend."

The logs obtained by the Tribune indicate the students were denied a place at Whitney Young because their scores were too low. Instead they were enrolled at Lincoln Park High School, which is not a selective-enrollment school but has several highly regarded magnet programs.